NBAA2010: Cessna introduces new aircraft with new cabin system

With the introduction of a new version of the Citation X, dubbed the Citation Ten, Cessna introduced a new cabin environment the company dubbed a break through.

The aircraft includes a 15” stretch among many other new features but Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing Roger Whyte said the cabin management system was exclusive to Cessna.First flight of the new aircraft will be in late 2011, with certification and delivery in 2013.Whyte said the the CMS was a proprietary fiber optic-based cabin management system including the latest interface options for greater in-flight productivity and connectivity. The Cessna CMS features an interactive, touch-screen system controller at each passenger seat for audio (digital media, MP3/iPhone), video (digital, Blu Ray), interactive moving map, cabin temperature, lights, window shades and even cabin diagnostics. The dual club-seat cabin arrangement also includes 110 or 220 volt electrical outlets and multiple USB/device inputs. High-speed Internet browsing, satellite radio and cabin Wi-Fi are available as options.The Cessna CMS trip computer includes an interactive moving map with a global database featuring standard features like flight data displays and location indicator, and also offers access to points of interest information.Saying it was the most advanced passenger cabin in the industry, Whyte said the company teamed with Dallas-based Heads Up Technologies to develop an intelligent cabin management system (CMS) that integrates cabin electrical systems, avionics and communications through a fiber optic backbone and an intuitive touch-screen user interface, resulting in “the ultimate connectivity experience.”“Together with Heads Up Technologies, we offer in the Ten a cabin and cabin management system designed top to bottom for productivity,” said Chair and CEO Jack Pelton said. “We surround all this productivity with new styling, more space, new seats, new lighting and more stowage – frankly more options all around to easily meet demanding customer requirements.” With advanced technology at its core, designers of the Citation Ten CMS opted for exclusive use of fiber optics instead of the more commonly used copper cable, not only providing sufficient bandwidth for system growth but greatly reducing aircraft weight. This size aircraft requires almost 200 feet of cable for the CMS; a fiber optic backbone weighs less than one-tenth what a copper cable system weighs. Aircraft using current technology CMS architectures carry extra cable – and extra weight – to accommodate future system expansion; if not, expansion is limited. The Citation Ten’s fiber optic architecture is scalable, both for system growth and for various aircraft.